PERLMODSTYLE(1) Perl Programmers Reference Guide PERLMODSTYLE(1)
NAME
perlmodstyle - Perl module style guide
INTRODUCTION
This document attempts to describe the Perl Community's "best practice" for writing Perl modules. It extends
the recommendations found in perlstyle , which should be considered required reading before reading this
document.
While this document is intended to be useful to all module authors, it is particularly aimed at authors who
wish to publish their modules on CPAN.
The focus is on elements of style which are visible to the users of a module, rather than those parts which
are only seen by the module's developers. However, many of the guidelines presented in this document can be
extrapolated and applied successfully to a module's internals.
This document differs from perlnewmod in that it is a style guide rather than a tutorial on creating CPAN
modules. It provides a checklist against which modules can be compared to determine whether they conform to
best practice, without necessarily describing in detail how to achieve this.
All the advice contained in this document has been gleaned from extensive conversations with experienced CPAN
authors and users. Every piece of advice given here is the result of previous mistakes. This information is
here to help you avoid the same mistakes and the extra work that would inevitably be required to fix them.
The first section of this document provides an itemized checklist; subsequent sections provide a more detailed
discussion of the items on the list. The final section, "Common Pitfalls", describes some of the most popular
mistakes made by CPAN authors.
QUICK CHECKLIST
For more detail on each item in this checklist, see below.
Before you start
· Don't re-invent the wheel
· Patch, extend or subclass an existing module where possible
· Do one thing and do it well
· Choose an appropriate name
The API
· API should be understandable by the average programmer
· Simple methods for simple tasks
· Separate functionality from output
· Consistent naming of subroutines or methods
· Use named parameters (a hash or hashref) when there are more than two parameters
Stability
· Ensure your module works under "use strict" and "-w"
· Stable modules should maintain backwards compatibility
Documentation
Release considerations
· Specify pre-requisites in Makefile.PL or Build.PL
· Specify Perl version requirements with "use"
· Include tests with your module
· Choose a sensible and consistent version numbering scheme (X.YY is the common Perl module numbering
scheme)
· Increment the version number for every change, no matter how small
· Package the module using "make dist"
· Choose an appropriate license (GPL/Artistic is a good default)
BEFORE YOU START WRITING A MODULE
Try not to launch headlong into developing your module without spending some time thinking first. A little
forethought may save you a vast amount of effort later on.
Has it been done before?
You may not even need to write the module. Check whether it's already been done in Perl, and avoid re-
inventing the wheel unless you have a good reason.
Good places to look for pre-existing modules include http://search.cpan.org/ and asking on [email protected]
If an existing module almost does what you want, consider writing a patch, writing a subclass, or otherwise
extending the existing module rather than rewriting it.
Do one thing and do it well
At the risk of stating the obvious, modules are intended to be modular. A Perl developer should be able to
use modules to put together the building blocks of their application. However, it's important that the blocks
are the right shape, and that the developer shouldn't have to use a big block when all they need is a small
one.
Your module should have a clearly defined scope which is no longer than a single sentence. Can your module be
broken down into a family of related modules?
Bad example:
"FooBar.pm provides an implementation of the FOO protocol and the related BAR standard."
Good example:
"Foo.pm provides an implementation of the FOO protocol. Bar.pm implements the related BAR protocol."
This means that if a developer only needs a module for the BAR standard, they should not be forced to install
libraries for FOO as well.
What's in a name?
Make sure you choose an appropriate name for your module early on. This will help people find and remember
your module, and make programming with your module more intuitive.
When naming your module, consider the following:
naming system. Authors of similar modules, or modules with similar names, may be a good place to start.
DESIGNING AND WRITING YOUR MODULE
Considerations for module design and coding:
To OO or not to OO?
Your module may be object oriented (OO) or not, or it may have both kinds of interfaces available. There are
pros and cons of each technique, which should be considered when you design your API.
In Perl Best Practices (copyright 2004, Published by O'Reilly Media, Inc.), Damian Conway provides a list of
criteria to use when deciding if OO is the right fit for your problem:
· The system being designed is large, or is likely to become large.
· The data can be aggregated into obvious structures, especially if there's a large amount of data in each
aggregate.
· The various types of data aggregate form a natural hierarchy that facilitates the use of inheritance and
polymorphism.
· You have a piece of data on which many different operations are applied.
· You need to perform the same general operations on related types of data, but with slight variations
depending on the specific type of data the operations are applied to.
· It's likely you'll have to add new data types later.
· The typical interactions between pieces of data are best represented by operators.
· The implementation of individual components of the system is likely to change over time.
· The system design is already object-oriented.
· Large numbers of other programmers will be using your code modules.
Think carefully about whether OO is appropriate for your module. Gratuitous object orientation results in
complex APIs which are difficult for the average module user to understand or use.
Designing your API
Your interfaces should be understandable by an average Perl programmer. The following guidelines may help you
judge whether your API is sufficiently straightforward:
Write simple routines to do simple things.
It's better to have numerous simple routines than a few monolithic ones. If your routine changes its
behaviour significantly based on its arguments, it's a sign that you should have two (or more) separate
routines.
Separate functionality from output.
Return your results in the most generic form possible and allow the user to choose how to use them. The
most generic form possible is usually a Perl data structure which can then be used to generate a text
report, HTML, XML, a database query, or whatever else your users require.
If your routine iterates through some kind of list (such as a list of files, or records in a database) you
may consider providing a callback so that users can manipulate each element of the list in turn.
display_day();
display_week();
display_year();
than
display_day();
week_display();
show_year();
This applies equally to method names, parameter names, and anything else which is visible to the user (and
most things that aren't!)
Parameter passing
Use named parameters. It's easier to use a hash like this:
$obj->do_something(
name => "wibble",
type => "text",
size => 1024,
);
... than to have a long list of unnamed parameters like this:
$obj->do_something("wibble", "text", 1024);
While the list of arguments might work fine for one, two or even three arguments, any more arguments
become hard for the module user to remember, and hard for the module author to manage. If you want to add
a new parameter you will have to add it to the end of the list for backward compatibility, and this will
probably make your list order unintuitive. Also, if many elements may be undefined you may see the
following unattractive method calls:
$obj->do_something(undef, undef, undef, undef, undef, undef, 1024);
Provide sensible defaults for parameters which have them. Don't make your users specify parameters which
will almost always be the same.
The issue of whether to pass the arguments in a hash or a hashref is largely a matter of personal style.
The use of hash keys starting with a hyphen ("-name") or entirely in upper case ("NAME") is a relic of
older versions of Perl in which ordinary lower case strings were not handled correctly by the "=>"
operator. While some modules retain uppercase or hyphenated argument keys for historical reasons or as a
matter of personal style, most new modules should use simple lower case keys. Whatever you choose, be
consistent!
Strictness and warnings
Your module should run successfully under the strict pragma and should run without generating any warnings.
Your module should also handle taint-checking where appropriate, though this can cause difficulties in many
cases.
Backwards compatibility
Modules which are "stable" should not break backwards compatibility without at least a long transition phase
and a major change in version number.
for details of "croak()", "carp()" and other useful routines.)
· As an alternative to the above, you may prefer to throw exceptions using the Error module.
Configurable error handling can be very useful to your users. Consider offering a choice of levels for
warning and debug messages, an option to send messages to a separate file, a way to specify an error-handling
routine, or other such features. Be sure to default all these options to the commonest use.
DOCUMENTING YOUR MODULE
POD
Your module should include documentation aimed at Perl developers. You should use Perl's "plain old
documentation" (POD) for your general technical documentation, though you may wish to write additional
documentation (white papers, tutorials, etc) in some other format. You need to cover the following subjects:
· A synopsis of the common uses of the module
· The purpose, scope and target applications of your module
· Use of each publically accessible method or subroutine, including parameters and return values
· Examples of use
· Sources of further information
· A contact email address for the author/maintainer
The level of detail in Perl module documentation generally goes from less detailed to more detailed. Your
SYNOPSIS section should contain a minimal example of use (perhaps as little as one line of code; skip the
unusual use cases or anything not needed by most users); the DESCRIPTION should describe your module in broad
terms, generally in just a few paragraphs; more detail of the module's routines or methods, lengthy code
examples, or other in-depth material should be given in subsequent sections.
Ideally, someone who's slightly familiar with your module should be able to refresh their memory without
hitting "page down". As your reader continues through the document, they should receive a progressively
greater amount of knowledge.
The recommended order of sections in Perl module documentation is:
· NAME
· SYNOPSIS
· DESCRIPTION
· One or more sections or subsections giving greater detail of available methods and routines and any other
relevant information.
· BUGS/CAVEATS/etc
· AUTHOR
· SEE ALSO
· COPYRIGHT and LICENSE
perl Makefile.PL
make
make test
make install
When using Module::Build, this will usually be:
perl Build.PL
perl Build
perl Build test
perl Build install
Release notes or changelogs should be produced for each release of your software describing user-visible
changes to your module, in terms relevant to the user.
RELEASE CONSIDERATIONS
Version numbering
Version numbers should indicate at least major and minor releases, and possibly sub-minor releases. A major
release is one in which most of the functionality has changed, or in which major new functionality is added.
A minor release is one in which a small amount of functionality has been added or changed. Sub-minor version
numbers are usually used for changes which do not affect functionality, such as documentation patches.
The most common CPAN version numbering scheme looks like this:
1.00, 1.10, 1.11, 1.20, 1.30, 1.31, 1.32
A correct CPAN version number is a floating point number with at least 2 digits after the decimal. You can
test whether it conforms to CPAN by using
perl -MExtUtils::MakeMaker -le 'print MM->parse_version(shift)' 'Foo.pm'
If you want to release a 'beta' or 'alpha' version of a module but don't want CPAN.pm to list it as most
recent use an '_' after the regular version number followed by at least 2 digits, eg. 1.20_01. If you do this,
the following idiom is recommended:
$VERSION = "1.12_01";
$XS_VERSION = $VERSION; # only needed if you have XS code
$VERSION = eval $VERSION;
With that trick MakeMaker will only read the first line and thus read the underscore, while the perl
interpreter will evaluate the $VERSION and convert the string into a number. Later operations that treat
$VERSION as a number will then be able to do so without provoking a warning about $VERSION not being a number.
Never release anything (even a one-word documentation patch) without incrementing the number. Even a one-word
documentation patch should result in a change in version at the sub-minor level.
Pre-requisites
Module authors should carefully consider whether to rely on other modules, and which modules to rely on.
Most importantly, choose modules which are as stable as possible. In order of preference:
· Core Perl modules
· Stable CPAN modules
available to people installing the modules (using "make test"). For Module::Build you would use the "make
test" equivalent "perl Build test".
The importance of these tests is proportional to the alleged stability of a module. A module which purports to
be stable or which hopes to achieve wide use should adhere to as strict a testing regime as possible.
Useful modules to help you write tests (with minimum impact on your development process or your time) include
Test::Simple, Carp::Assert and Test::Inline. For more sophisticated test suites there are Test::More and
Test::MockObject.
Packaging
Modules should be packaged using one of the standard packaging tools. Currently you have the choice between
ExtUtils::MakeMaker and the more platform independent Module::Build, allowing modules to be installed in a
consistent manner. When using ExtUtils::MakeMaker, you can use "make dist" to create your package. Tools
exist to help you to build your module in a MakeMaker-friendly style. These include ExtUtils::ModuleMaker and
h2xs. See also perlnewmod.
Licensing
Make sure that your module has a license, and that the full text of it is included in the distribution (unless
it's a common one and the terms of the license don't require you to include it).
If you don't know what license to use, dual licensing under the GPL and Artistic licenses (the same as Perl
itself) is a good idea. See perlgpl and perlartistic.
COMMON PITFALLS
Reinventing the wheel
There are certain application spaces which are already very, very well served by CPAN. One example is
templating systems, another is date and time modules, and there are many more. While it is a rite of passage
to write your own version of these things, please consider carefully whether the Perl world really needs you
to publish it.
Trying to do too much
Your module will be part of a developer's toolkit. It will not, in itself, form the entire toolkit. It's
tempting to add extra features until your code is a monolithic system rather than a set of modular building
blocks.
Inappropriate documentation
Don't fall into the trap of writing for the wrong audience. Your primary audience is a reasonably experienced
developer with at least a moderate understanding of your module's application domain, who's just downloaded
your module and wants to start using it as quickly as possible.
Tutorials, end-user documentation, research papers, FAQs etc are not appropriate in a module's main
documentation. If you really want to write these, include them as sub-documents such as
"My::Module::Tutorial" or "My::Module::FAQ" and provide a link in the SEE ALSO section of the main
documentation.
SEE ALSO
perlstyle
General Perl style guide
perlnewmod
How to create a new module
perlpod
Perl Authors Upload Server. Contains links to information for module authors.
Any good book on software engineering
AUTHOR
Kirrily "Skud" Robert <[email protected]>
perl v5.16.3 2013-03-04 PERLMODSTYLE(1)
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